WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden says many women who are raped or physically abused don’t report it because they don’t want, in his words, “to get raped again by the system.”

Biden says many women who are abused are ashamed and embarrassed. He says it takes enormous courage for women to come forward and ask for help after being victims of domestic violence.

Biden spoke Wednesday night at a fundraiser at a Washington hotel for the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project. He says legal help for domestic violence victims is critical to freeing them from being imprisoned by their circumstances.

Biden says women are afraid to leave abusers because they’d be leaving their children behind. He’s touting the recently re-authorized Violence Against Women Act as critical to helping women escape violent situations.

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